1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air and gas filtration devices, and more particularly to personal filtration devices for eliminating eructation, or burp, odor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Burp or eructation odors have been a source of annoyance or concern in polite society for hundreds of years. Far too often, the foods that we love most cause us to belch. To the person who is belching, the odor may be a trifling annoyance, especially if the burp was the result of an enjoyable meal. However, for persons in the close vicinity of the burp, the burp is simply an unpleasant odor of someone else's partially digested food. Many people wish to eliminate the burp odor so as to avoid offending others.
Numerous methods have been devised to address the burp odor problem. Foremost among the proposed solutions are counteracting scents. These counteracting scents, such as peppermint or cinnamon candies, act to mask the burp odor with a stronger, more dominant or pleasant scent. However, the burp odor remains beneath, barely hidden, unaltered and simply masked. Another attempt to eliminate burp odor involved the use of chemicals.
Chemicals were used to alter or bind the most offensive chemicals, particularly those compounds containing sulfur, and render them harmless. These efforts were an attempt to create a burp without odor, or to eliminate the burp altogether. These efforts failed because of the tremendous number of different chemicals that are capable of creating offensive odors, and because of the numerous sources of gas that are present in the foods we eat. In addition, one must take care in using the various chemical methods of burp control.
The various chemical methods for controlling the odor of burps may not be harmless. The seemingly innocuous peppermints are now known to affect the operation of sphincters within the digestive tract. The more complex odor, gas, and acid controlling chemicals may have long-term effects that are still unknown. Thus, the next logical step is to eliminate the odor of a burp outside of the body. That is, as the burp is expelled. Thus, what is needed is a personal burp-filtering device that neutralizes burp odors quickly and is discreetly portable for use in any social setting.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,414, issued to Jon W. Beam on Oct. 13, 1970, teaches a mechanical tobacco smoke filter for use in conjunction with a tobacco rod suitable for smoking.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,244, issued to John A. Luke on Aug. 20, 1974, discloses tobacco-smoke filters for use in conjunction with tobacco products.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,037, issued to Peter Higham on Sep. 21, 1982, teaches a personal gas monitor. However, the device does not require intake or exhaust ports, but instead measures gas passively. Further, the device does not filter the air, but collects samples of impurities for monitoring.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,975, issued to Purnell et al. on Jul. 6, 1993, discloses a litter box deodorizer. However, the device does not require a user to provide airflow through the device. It is a passive, porous container for holding deodorizing materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,625 B1, issued to Kar Eng Chew on Feb. 12, 2002, teaches a filter for secondary smoke and smoking articles incorporating the same, the device being a single-purpose and incapable of performing other functions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,395,046 B1, issued May 28, 2002, to Emig et al. describes a filter having nano non-woven tissue.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,643 B1, issued May 15, 2001, to Pasic et al. describes the use of woven nano filter material for removal of molecules such as NOx and SOx from a gas.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0082794 A1, published May 1, 2003, for Haridas et al., describes a biological filter for the purification of waste gases.
The brochure “Purafil Chemisorbant Media for removal of toxic, odorous, and corrosive gases” available from Purafil, Doraville, Ga. as taken from their Internet Website describes granular chemisorbants useful for removal of contaminant gases by adsorption, absorption, and chemical reaction.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.